To see that law that states the sum of two parts is greater than the individual parts themselves, one only has to look at the lives of Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis -- two great individuals to be sure, but even greater as a definitive and loving unit. As one of the most revered couples of the American stage and screen, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis not only paved the way for black actors with their groundbreaking, unparalleled work, but also ensured an enduring social legacy through their sustained and unwavering activism for justice.

Born in 1924, Ruby Dee was raised in Harlem, New York and graduated with Spanish and French degrees from Hunter College. Ruby Dee was the first black woman to appear in major roles in the American Shakespeare Festival, and for her work in the theater and over 20 films including 'A Raisin in the Sun,' she has won an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Emmy Award and most recently a lifetime achievement award from the Women Film Critics Circle.

Ossie Davis was born on December 18, 1917 in Cogdell, Georgia. He studied at Howard University under the renowned Harlem Renaissance participant Alain Locke (the first black Rhodes scholar) who encouraged him to act. Though Davis began on the stage and had an illustrious acting career until his death, he always said he sought to be behind the scenes, and eventually went on to write the play and film, 'Purlie Victorious,' wrote and directed 'Cotton Comes to Harlem' and directed 'Kongi's Harvest,' in Nigeria, the first film to have an all-black cast and crew. Ossie Davis passed away on Feb. 4, 2005.

Davis and Dee's highest honors in the arts include a Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild, the National Medal of Arts and being inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame. The two even wrote a joint autobiography, 'With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together.'

As activists, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis have marched with, fought with and befriended African-American greats including Jackie Robinson, A. Philip Randolph, Adam Clayton Powell, Martin Luther King, Paul Robeson and Malcolm X (Davis did his eulogy.) During the McCarthy-era, the two were blacklisted for their work yet never ceased in 'the struggle.'

Imitation is The Best Form of Flattery

It would seem that when they made the Dee-Davis unit, the mold was broken. Were it not for them, it is doubful that actors from Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett, directors from Spike Lee to John Singleton, and poets and playwrights such as Sarah Jones and August Wilson would have existed. Yet because the two were activists also, their work took on an even greater meaning. "For us, art was always advocacy, whether we expressed it or not," said Davis.

Lee, who worked with Dee and Davis on six films (two of which -- 'Do the Right Thing' and 'Jungle Fever' they starred in together), said he'd wanted to work with such giants since he was student as Morehouse. When Lee got his chance, he had this to say about his time with them: "I just remember always trying to be quiet and just listen to them. Listen to the wisdom, knowledge and guidance," said Lee on National Public Radio after Davis' death. "If you remember Ossie, you remember Ruby also. You would think they were born at the hip."

Pearls of Wisdom:

"The largest piece of unfinished business before humankind is, in our opinion, poverty, spiritual as well as material. Racism, yes, and sexism, too; unemployment, drugs, child abuse, black boys too much in prison -- oh yes Struggle is all there is, and we are still committed. And even if, from time to time, it finds us slow or absent, we ask the Struggle to accept our children. To give them meaning and purpose just as it did us. To make a place for them in the line of march." -- Ruby Dee